Davis-Besse to go through decommissioning process if plant closes

The future of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station and its 700 employees is still up in the air as FirstEnergy reviews options to sell, close or continue operating the 40-year-old plant. If the plant closes, it would go through a decommissioning process regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.(Photo: Molly Corfman/The News-Messenger, File)Buy Photo

OAK HARBOR - No decision has been made on the future of FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station.

But if it does close, the plant's pressurized water reactor would go through a lengthy, federally regulated decommissioning process.

As one of the conditions for an operating license, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission would require FirstEnergy to decommission the nuclear plant after it ceases power operations, according to the federal agency.

This requirement is based on the need to reduce the amount of radioactive material at the site to ensure public health and safety as well as protection of the environment.

FirstEnergy would have up to 60 years, based on federal regulations, to decommission Davis-Besse once it ceases operations at the site.

FirstEnergy spokesperson Jennifer Young confirmed again Wednesday that the energy company is still working through the strategic review process for its Davis-Besse and Perry nuclear power plants, with no date set for any announcements regarding a possible sale or closure of the facilities.

Young said she didn't have any answers at this time on decommissioning, including how much of a workforce FirstEnergy would maintain at the site if it closes Davis-Besse, a timeline for the decommissioning process or what it would need to do.

"I can confirm that we have not reduced the workforce at Davis-Besse," Young said in an email.

If FirstEnergy were to decide to close Davis-Besse, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations requires the company to submit a formal letter to the agency within 30 days. Similar rules would apply if the plant is sold.

According to the NRC, decommissioning involves removing the spent fuel (the fuel that has been in the reactor vessel), dismantling any systems or components containing activation products (such as the reactor vessel and primary loop), and cleaning up or dismantling contaminated materials from the facility.

Sam Belcher, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co.'s president and chief nuclear officer, told the News-Messenger in February 2017 that after the plant was no longer producing electricity, there was fuel in Davis-Besse's reactor core that would ultimately be moved to a spent fuel pool.

He said the materials could be removed from the site or put into "safe store" on-site.

"People have made the decision to go both ways. And it typically is purely an economic decision," Belcher said.

The NRC ruled in 2014 that spent fuel waste could be stored on-site at decommissioned nuclear power plant sites.

The licensee decides how to decontaminate material; the decision is usually based on the amount of contamination, the ease with which it can be removed, and the cost to remove the contamination versus the cost to ship the entire structure or component to a waste disposal site, according to the agency.

Belcher said decommissioning of a plant is generally a five-to-10 year activity, once the spent fuel is removed.

He said the decision to remove contaminated spent fuel or keep it in onsite in safe store would be based on a number of factors, including community considerations and the economics of keeping decommissioning funds in a trust fund and hoping that money grow faster in the market than the rate of inflation for decommissioning costs.

On its website, the NRC specifies the minimum amounts that are required for reasonable assurance of funds for decommissioning are $290 million for pressurized-water reactors and $370 million for boiling-water reactors. These costs are in 1999 dollars and are adjusted annually.

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The Main turbine room at Davis–Besse Nuclear Power Station contains four large valves and the plant's main generator.(Photo: Molly Corfman/The News-Messenger)

Young said in July that, based on a licensed expiration date of 2037, Davis-Besse’s decommissioning cost estimate at that time was $467,414,486.

She said that after tax, there was $552,423,474 at that time in the plant’s decommissioning fund.

"So funding is in good shape should decommissioning be required," Young said.

With regard to fuel assemblies that could be stored onsite, Young said that really does depend on when the plant ultimately shuts down.

"Assuming the plant operates through 2037, the total number of used fuel assemblies stored at the site would be around 1,700," Young said.

Jamie Beier Grant, executive director of the Ottawa County Improvement Corporation, said county officials are still monitoring federal and state legislative decisions that could affect the plant's future.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled unanimously in January in to reject Energy Secretary Ricky Perry's plan, which would have established a tariff mechanism to provide for the purchase of energy from an eligible "reliability and resilience resource" and the recovery of costs and a return on equity for such resources, according to the FERC ruling.

Ottawa County officials had hoped that a FERC approval of Perry's proposal could result in financial help, including possible federal loan guarantees, to Davis-Besse's owner FirstEnergy Corp. that could stave off a possible closure of the nuclear plant.

Grant said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a follow-up directive in January to respond within 60 days with more detailed data on key attributes of reliability and resiliency to the nation's grid system.

She said the Ohio Senate Public Utilities Committee recently took additional testimony a few weeks ago on Senate Bill 128, which is the Zero Emissions Nuclear legislation that local officials hope could, if passed, help FirstEnergy keep its nuclear plants open in Ohio.

"I believe the state legislature is awaiting more information on any decisions from the federal government and FERC before the state determines next steps," Grant said.

Grant said FirstEnergy had given no indications to her or other county officials on what they will do with the plant and had not specified how many employees would be kept on if Davis-Besse closes and goes through decommissioning.

She said local officials are working to make sure no stone is left unturned on keeping Davis-Besse open.

"When I said early on that from the time I wake up until the time my day ends, I am thinking about what additional dialogue and work I can be doing to preserve Davis Besse, I meant it. The plant, the employees, and their families are important to Ottawa County and our region. We will continue to do whatever we can to preserve the plant and the economic benefits it brings to our area," Grant said.

The NRC states that if a nuclear power plant license has been terminated and the site is released for unrestricted use, any use is permitted.

Possibilities include restoring the natural habitat, farming, and continuing industrial use (e.g., leaving buildings and installing a gas-, coal-, or oil-powered generating plant), according to the agency.

Belcher said in February 2017 he was not aware of any nuclear power plants in the U.S. where redevelopment had occurred on-site after a plant had closed.